Comic In Progress: Codename KYUSS

KYUSS: distracted by new ideas

One problem I’ve had to deal with is trying to focus on my current project when I get a new idea. I’m one that always gets hyped by my ideas, especially my new ideas. There’s an excitement in new. (As a kid, I was vulnerable to advertisement, but that broke after one too many disappointments.) However, this excitement can be distracting, especially when I’m working on a project.

Don’t get me wrong. I love developing ideas. Playing with raw creativity. Building worlds and characters before working on the structure of the story.

However, I also need to think about the future. And while any time spent developing ideas is an investment, it’s not something people can read. The sooner I can release a completed work, the sooner people can read it. The sooner that happens, the sooner I can (hopefully) garner interest in my work and either get hired to write comics as a full time job or create a large enough fan base that writing indie comics becomes a sustainable career. Because that’s the ultimate goal: to have a career writing comics so I can create and share as many of my stories as possible.

I live for the romanticism of writing: the joy of creating stories for others to also enjoy. However, stories don’t put food on the table or keep the lights on until they’re finished and in someone else’s hands. So, I needed a way to stop myself from being distracted by new ideas as they come to me.

My approach is two-fold. First, I make sure I’m working from any sort of outline. As long as I have some sort of thread to follow, I don’t usually wander off course now. Second, I make sure to write down the new idea as soon as possible and record it with as much hype in its language as possible. The emotions I’m feeling when I think about it, and why it excites me, to later recapture as much as that hype as possible.

I’ll never claim that I’m the only one with this kind of problem, which is barely a problem. And my solution isn’t the only solution. This is what works for me. Plus, it has the added benefit of helping me practice communicating my excitement for the idea to other people. And people will get excited about your story if it excites you.

#comics #makingcomics #KYUSS #comicinprogress